Counter assembly and shifter mechanism



Jan. 17, 1939. M M HENNESSY y 2,144,152

COUNTER ASSEMBLY AND SHIFTEB MECHANISM Filed Jan. 2, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTQRNEYS.

Jan. 17, 1939. M` M HENNEssY COUNTER ASSEMBLY AND SHIFTER MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 k lllnlllv Filed Jan. 2, 1937 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 17, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COUNTER ASSEMBLY AND SHIFTER MECHANISM Application January 2, 1937, Serial No. 118,805

8 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to improvements in the art of registering the number of operations performed by certain machines, and relates` more specifically to improvements in the construction and operation of counter assemblages and shifting mechanisms therefor.

Generally defined, an object of my present invention is to provide an improved mechanical counter which is relatively simple and durable in construction, and Which is moreover efficient and comparatively flexible in use.

Many types of so-called pick counters have heretofore been used for the purpose of registering the operations performed by looms and the like, and some of these prior counter assemblages have been provided with several independently functioning and resettable counter units operable from a common actuating or driving source, and having mechanism for interchangeably connecting any one of the units to the driving source, while simultaneously disconnecting all of the others from this source. In these prior multiple unit counter assemblages, several of the units are mounted and concealed in a common housing or casing, and the purpose of providing more than one counter unit with means for making any one of the units effective, .is to permit registering of the loom operations performed by successive working shifts. The prior counter units of this type Whether of the single or multiple unit variety, ordinarily have vthe drive shaft located either at the right or left end of the counter, thus necessitating provision of right and left drive assemblages for each typey of single and multiple unit assemblage produced by the manufacturer. In the event that it becomes desirable for the factory operator to increase the number of working shifts, and his present counter assemblages are inadequate to take care of such increase, it becomes necessary under the prior practice to provide additional counter assemblages each comprising either a single or a multiple unit assembly operable independently of the existing assemblages, or another single unit operable in conjunction with each existing multiple unit assemblage. The prior systems are therefore insuiciently flexible to permit convenient increase in order to accommodate a greater number of Working shifts, especially beyond three, and cannot be used both for registering individual shift operations and for totalizing the operations of all shifts.

Itis therefore a more specific object of my present invention to provide an improved counter unit which-may be readily assembled in any desired multiples operable from a common driving source, together with improved shifting or selecting mechanism Which makes it more readily possible to connect any one or more of the individual units to the driving source while simultaneously disconnecting the others.

Another specific object of this invention is to minimize the cost of counter assemblages, both for the manufacturer and for the user, by providing a standardized simple yet highly efficient single counter unit which may be readily grouped in multiples of any desired number operable from the same or from independent driving sources, and' from either side of a loom or similar machine; and which units are conveniently interchangeable with other similar` units.

A further specific object of the invention is the provision of improved control or shifting mechanism especially applicable to standardized counter units adapted for multiple grouped assemblages comprising variable numbers of individual units, which mechanism will permit selective operation of any one or more of the units of a group to the exclusion of all others associated with the same drive, by merelyI manipulating the control elements of the selected units of a group.

Still another specific object of my invention is to provide a new and useful counter assemblage, which is adapted to accurately register the Work performed by any desired number of successive Working shifts, and which may be additionally set to simultaneously register other items such as the total performances of all of the working shifts.

An additional specific object of this invention is the provision of durable counting mechanism all parts of which are normally concealed and thoroughly protected, which is not subject to inaccurate registering due to vibration of the machinery with Which it is associated, all parts of which are conveniently accessible for inspection and adjustment, and which requires minimum attention when properly installed.

These and other specific objects and advantages Will be apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of embodiments of the several features constituting my present improvement, and of the mode of constructing and of assembling and using counter mechanisms builtY in accordance with the invention, may be had by referring to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the various Views.

Fig. 1 is a top View of a three unit counter assemblage with the closure covers of all of the individual units removed;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the shifting mechanism of the assemblage of Fig. 1, taken along the line 2-2, and showing the central unit shifter active while the Shifters of the other units are inactive;

Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal section through one of the end units, taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and showing the shifter thereof inactive;

Fig. 4 is a similar section through the shifting mechanism only of the end unit of Fig. 3, showing the shifter in active position; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary transverse section through the main drive of one of the ends and a portion of the central unit.

While the invention has been shown and described herein as being specifically embodied in a three unit counter assembly especially applicable as a loom pick counter, it is not the intent to thereby unnecessarily restrict the scope, since the improved features are also applicable to groups of more than three units, and for many other purposes such as registering the operations of stamping machinery, the number of containers or other. objects passing through a. machine, and the number of parts being applied to successive assembl-ages.

Referring to the drawings, the improved pick counter assemblage shown therein comprises in general a series of three similar independently operable counter units all of which are adapted to be driven from a common driving source, and

'each of which is provided with its own control mechanism for connecting the counter shaft to and for disconnecting the same from the driving source. Y

Each of the counter units comprises .a box-like main frame 8 provided with a detachable closure cover 9; a main shaft I8 extending longitudinally across and flXedly secured to the opposite end w-alls of each frame 8 and providing a journal support for av series of four cooperating number units II, i2, I3, I4; an intermediate shaft I5 extending parallel to the main shaft I and being journaled in the frame 8 beneath the fixed shaft; a power or drive shaft I8 extending transversely across and journaled in the frame 8 beneath the intermediate shaft I; gearing including a worm I 'I and a worm wheel I3, drivingly connecting each drive shaft I6 with the corresponding shaft I5; other gearing including a spur gear I9 xedly secured to the drive shaft I5 and another spur gear 20 slidably mounted upon the main shaft I0; a helical compression spring 2l which constantly tends to shift the gear toward intermeshing position with the corresponding gear I9; and a control member or plunger 22 slidably supported by the frame 8 and cover 9 and cooperable with the shiftable gear 28 to movethe same out of mesh with the gear I9 in opposition to the spring 2I.

The main frames 8 of the several units are all of like and interchangeable construction being formed in any suitable manner as by stamping or casting; and each of these frames is provided with several through openings near the end walls thereof adapted for snug reception of clamping rods 23 which serve to rigidly interconnect the sever-al units and to attach them as a group toY a suitable support 24, see Figs. 1 and 3. The successive frames 8 may be additionally interconnected by means of one or more bars 25 and cap screws 2B, and the covers 9 may be removably attached to the frames 8 by screws 2'I. The covers 9 are also of like and interchangeable construction, being formed either with dies or by casting, and each of these covers 9 has a window 28 therein adjacent the number units II, I2, I3, I4.

'Ihe stationary shaft I0 of each counter unit may be Xed to the frame 8 by a pin 29, and the number units II, I2, I3, I4 of which there may be more than four, are of old and well known construction, being successively rotatable to register the loom operations, by means of pinions 30 rotatably supported upon a shaft 3| which is ixedly secured to the frame 8 and eX- tends parallel to the main shaft I0, see Fig. l. These number unit assemblages may also be provided with the usual resetting mechanism which may be applied to the counters in sockets which in the present embodiment have been closed by plugs 32 since no resetting mechanism is being employed, and the resetting devices have been omitted in order to avoid unnecessary complications. The low digit number unit II of each set, through which movement is transmitted to all of the other units I2, I3, I4, coacts with an initial motion transmitting element 33 having a recessed and bifurcated end extension 34 within which the spring 2| is located, and the shiftable gear 28 of each counter unit has projections 35 which slidably engage the slots formed by the bifurcations of the extensionY 34. The assemblage is therefore such that when the spur gear 28 is being rotated by the cooperating gear I9, rotary motion is being constantly transmitted to the element 33, and intermittent rotary motion is thereafter transmitted from the element 33 to the successive number units II, I2, I3, I4 through the pinions 38 to register the successive loom operations.

All of the power or drive shafts I6 of the several units, are also preferably of like and interchangeable construction, and are mounted in sleevey bearings 3B as clearly shown in Fig. 5. EachV of these shafts I6 is prevented from shifting axially due to the action of the worm VI'I secured thereto, by a thrust collar 3'I, and one end of each shaft I6 is recessed for the reception of a driving projection 38 at the adjacent end of an alined shaft I6 of another counter unit. The shafts I6 are moreover located centrally of the counter units so as to eliminateV necessity of providing right and left side driving, and the projecting end of the shaft I6 of the end or lowermost counter unit is attached by means of a universal coupling 39, to a driving shaft 40 which is drivingly associated with the loom in a well known manner.

'Ihe control members or plungers 22 which are slidably mounted in the frames 8 and covers 9, are likewise of similar and interchangeable construction;k and the inner end of each of the plungers 22 is provided with a slot 4I within which the shafts I8, I5 are located so as to provide a guide for the plunger. Each plunger 22 is also formed with inclined or wedge surfaces 42 which are cooperable with a substantially spherical end projection 49 on the adjacent spur gear 28, in order to shift this gear along the shaft I in oppositionv to the spring 2|, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4; and is additionally provided with shoulders or abutments 43 which are engageable with bell cranksV 44 as shown in Fig. y2. The bell cranks 44 of whichthere are two for each unit,are swingably suspended fromthe frame 8 by means of pivot pins 45, and the inner arms of these bell cranks coact with alined rods or pins 46, 41 which are slidable in holes 48 in the frame 8. The central pins 46 are slightly longer than the end pins 41, and the former are located between and coact with the inner arms of the two bell cranks 44 of the same counter unit, while the latter are adapted to transmit motion from a bell crank 44 of one unit to the adjacent bell crank 44 of an adjoining unit. The holes 48 at the extreme ends of the group assembly are closed by means of removable plugs 50, and locking clips I for the gears 20 may be provided as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 for the purpose of positively preventing these gears from rotating when they are out of mesh with the adjacent gears I9. The shifter mechanisms aresointerconnected by the pins 41, that when one of the counter units is active, the others are inactive, but by omitting the pins 41 and plugging both holes 48 of each unit, all of the units may be controlled independently of the others.

When the improved loom pick counters have been properly constructed, assembled and applied to a loom, any one of the individual units may be connected to the common drive shafts I6, 40, by merely depressing the plunger 22 thereof as shown in Fig. 4. As the plunger 22 is depressed, the spring 2I of the corresponding counter unit becomes effective to shift the adjacent gear 20 along the corresponding shaft IIJ, and into intermeshing relationship with the adjacent constantly revolving gear I9, this shifting motion being permitted by the inclined surfaces 42 along which the spherical projection 48 is adapted to ride. Rotary motion is then transmitted from the drive shaft I6 through the worm I1, worm Wheel I8, and shaft I5, and through the gears I9, 20, to the adjoining element 33, and from thence to the successive number units II, I2, I3, I4 in a well known manner.

During the depressing of the plunger 22, the abutments 43 thereof coact with the bell cranks 44 in the manner shown at the center of Fig. 2. As the bell cranks 44 are swung about their pivot pins 45, the inwardly projecting arms thereof move away from the intervening long pin 46 and transmit motion to the adjacent pins 41, which in turn transmit motion to the adjacent bell cranks 44 of the other units. This swinging movement of the bell cranks 44 of the other units, causes them to coact with the adjacent abutments 43 and to thereby push the plungers 22 of the end counter units outwardly to the position indicated in Fig. 3. As each of the plungers 22 is moved outwardly, the inclined surfaces 42 thereof coact with the adjacent spherical projections 49 and thus immediately become effective to slide the adjacent gear 20 out of mesh with the adjoining gear I9, thereby disconnecting the corresponding counter unit from the power source. The same action will. take place regardless of which of the plungers 22 is manipulated, that is, when one plunger 22 is depressed to connect the corresponding number unit with the power source, the other plungers 22 are simultaneously moved outwardly to disconnect the other counter units from the driving source. It is also to be noted that When the gears 20 are shifted out of mesh with the gears I9, the former are thrown into engagement with the adjacent spring clips 5I which thereafter positively prevent rotation of the gears 20.

It is to be noted that by removing one of the motion transmitting pins 41 which are normally interposed between the adjacent counter units, and by applying plugs 5I) to the openings 48, the units may be made independently manipulable. When the assemblage has been thus modified, any one of the plungers 22 may be operated without in any manner affecting any of the others. This feature is of importance since it permits a group of three or four counter units to be assembled for the purpose of registering the operations performed by individual working shifts, and it also permits the addition to the group of another counter unit which may be operated constantly to totalize the number of working operations performed by all of the working shifts. Similar interchangeable construction of the several counter units, and especially the frames 8 thereof, and the mode of assembling these units into groups, provides a highly flexible system or assemblage whereby any number of standard counter units may be detachably connected to each other in groups. These units may, however, be readily removed and the number of units in each group may be conveniently varied. If one of the units should become inoperative, it is possible to quickly replace the same by a new unit with minimum delay in operation. By making control mechanisms for the several units independently operable, rather than having them operable from a common point, possible error in shifting is eliminated. The covers 9 while permitting normal viewing of the number units il, I2, I3, I4, may be removed if necessary, for inspection of the internal mechanism, and when the counter units are assembled into groups, the drive shafts l5 thereof are automatically drivingly connected in alined series relationship. By utilizing suitable metals in the formation of the shafts and bearings, periodic lubrication becomes unnecessary and the counter assemblage will operate effectively without any attention for long periods of time after proper initial installation thereof. Location of the drive shaft IB centrally of the frames 8, is also of importance it eliminates necessity of providing right and left units which must be specially constructed for application to either the right or left hand side of the machine with which the unit is to cooperate, thereby making it possible to have all of the several units of interchangeable like construction and reducing to a minimum the cost of manufacture of such devices.

From the foregoing specific description it will be apparent that the present invention provides an improved counter assembly and improved shifting mechanism, both of which are simple in construction and highly effective and flexible in use. The invention enables the manufacturers to standardize counter units of this character for grouped assembly of any number of the individual units. The improved shifting mechanism makes it possible to directly manipulate any one of a group of units while reversely operating some or all of the others. The invention is particularly advantageous to the user who has his plant entirely equipped with the improved standardized units, since the user is thus able to re-group his counter units in any manner desired and in order to accommodate any number of working shifts. The improved assemblage is moreover compact and durable in construction, and presents a neat appearance; and the locking clips 5I positively prevent the individual number units from shifting due to vibration of the machinery, when these units are disconnected from the power source. The present invention has proven highly practical and successful in actual commercial use, and may obviously be applied with equal advantages to counter mechanisms other than loom pick counters.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit the present invention to the exact details of construction and to the precise mode of operation herein shown and described, for various modifications Within the scope of the claims may occur topersons skilled in the art.

I claim:-

l. In combination, a group of similar counter units each comprising an independent fra-me and a set of numeral Wheels mounted in said frame, alineable drive shafts mounted centrally in said frames, means for connecting said frames to each other With said drive shafts interconnected in series, and means for independently connecting each of said counter units with said drive shafts to the exclusion of others.

2. In combination, a group of similar counter units each comprising an independent elongated frame and a set or^ numeral Wheels mounted in said frame for rotation about an axis extending longitudinally of the frame, alineable drive shafts mounted centrally in said frames and extending transversely of said wheel axes, means for connecting said frames to each other With said drive shafts interconnected in series, and means for independently connecting each of said counter units with said drive shafts to the exclusion of others.

3. In combination, the group of similar counter units each comprising an independent frame and a set of numeral Wheels mounted in said frame, alineable drive shafts mounted centrally in said frames, means for connecting said frames to each other With said drive shafts interconnected in series, independently operable shifting 4members each operable to connect its related unit to said drive shafts, and motion transmitting mechanism operable by each of said members for disconnecting any other previously drivingly connected unit of said group from said drive shafts.

4. In combination, a group of counter units, a common drive for actuating said units, independently operable shifting members each operable to connect its related unit to said drive,

and motion transmitting mechanism operable by each of said shifting members for connecting the corresponding counter unit with said drive to the exclusion of all others.

5. In combination, a group of independently functioning similar counter units, a common drive for actuating said units, independently operable shifting members each operable to connect its related unit to said drive, and a series of bell cranks and cooperable pins operable by each of said shifting members for connecting the corresponding counter unit with said drive to the exclusion of all others.

6. In combination, a group of adjoining independently functioning counter units rotatable about parallel shafts, a corresponding group of end connected alined driving shafts extending transversely of said parallel shafts and constituting a common drive for said units, independently manipulable shifting members each operable to connect its related unit to one of said driving shafts, and motion transmitting mechanism oper able by each of said shifting members for connecting the corresponding counter unit to said drive shafts to the exclusion of all others.

7. In combination, a group of counter units, a common drive for actuating said units, independently operable shifting members each operable to connect its related unit to said drive, and motion transmitting mechanism operable yupon actuation of each of said shifting members for disconnecting from said drive any other unit which had previously been connected thereto by actuation of another of said members.

8. In combination, a group of counter units, a common drive for actuating said units, independ* ently operable shifting members each operable to connect its related unit to said drive, and motion transmitting mechanism operable upon actuation of each of said shifting members for disconnecting from said drive any other unit which had previously been connected thereto by actuation of another of said members, portions of said mechanism being readily removable to permit simultaneous connection of several of said units with said drive.

MARK M. HENNESSY. 

